Social Change Movement: Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters traveled from California to New York and back. They gave away LSD to anyone interested in using it along the way. They wanted to spread the LSD and psychedelic experience to everyone. They believed that taking psychedelic drugs would enlighten them both spiritually and psychologically. They were not fans of the way the government was ran and thought these drugs, with their enlighten effects, would ultimately lead to social reforms.
Purpose/Drive:
Ken Kesey was the leader and founder of the Merry Pranksters. While attending Stanford in 1959, Kesey volunteered to take part in Project MKULTRA, which was funded by the CIA. Kesey took drugs such as AMT, DMT, psilocybin (“shrooms”), cocaine and LSD for the project. Publicly the goal was to test the effect these had on the human mind but secretly they wanted to test these drugs for research on torture methods. The drugs Kesey took from the experiments inspired all his future writings and ideals.
Kesey was invited to New York after his publication of Sometimes A Great Notion. He and some of his friends bought an old school bus, painted it with psychedelic colors and took off for New York from California. The Merry Pranksters were born. They used LSD and marijuana quite often. Their goals were to experience the “now”, give out LSD, expand people’s perception of reality, break through the conformity of the United States and reconfigure the nation’s society.
Occupation:
Ken Kesey was a born into a dairy farming family in Colorado. Growing up he was a great student and athlete. After he graduated from the University of Oregon he went to Stanford where he signed up for Project MKULTRA.
References: Timothy Leary, Bob Dylan, John Lennon
Friends: Ken Babbs, Neal Cassady, Carolyn Adams, Allen Ginsberg, Wavy Gravy, Paul Krassner, Stewart Brand, Del Close, Paul Fostar, Gurney Norman and George Walker
Foes:
Government, Law Enforcement, Older generations who favor conservatism
Works Cited
"Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters." Library of University of Virginia. University of Virginia, 1998. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. <http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.html>.
*Lehmann-Haupt, Rachel. "For a Merry Prankster, A Day-Glo-Free Funeral." The New York Observer. 31 Mar. 2002. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. <http://www.observer.com/node/45816>. McConnell, William S. The Counterculture Movements of the 1960s. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2004. Print.
Merry Pranksters
Social Change Movement:
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters traveled from California to New York and back. They gave away LSD to anyone interested in using it along the way. They wanted to spread the LSD and psychedelic experience to everyone. They believed that taking psychedelic drugs would enlighten them both spiritually and psychologically. They were not fans of the way the government was ran and thought these drugs, with their enlighten effects, would ultimately lead to social reforms.
Purpose/Drive:
Ken Kesey was the leader and founder of the Merry Pranksters. While attending Stanford in 1959, Kesey volunteered to take part in Project MKULTRA, which was funded by the CIA. Kesey took drugs such as AMT, DMT, psilocybin (“shrooms”), cocaine and LSD for the project. Publicly the goal was to test the effect these had on the human mind but secretly they wanted to test these drugs for research on torture methods. The drugs Kesey took from the experiments inspired all his future writings and ideals.
Kesey was invited to New York after his publication of Sometimes A Great Notion. He and some of his friends bought an old school bus, painted it with psychedelic colors and took off for New York from California. The Merry Pranksters were born. They used LSD and marijuana quite often. Their goals were to experience the “now”, give out LSD, expand people’s perception of reality, break through the conformity of the United States and reconfigure the nation’s society.
Occupation:
Ken Kesey was a born into a dairy farming family in Colorado. Growing up he was a great student and athlete. After he graduated from the University of Oregon he went to Stanford where he signed up for Project MKULTRA.
References:
Timothy Leary, Bob Dylan, John Lennon
Friends:
Ken Babbs, Neal Cassady, Carolyn Adams, Allen Ginsberg, Wavy Gravy, Paul Krassner, Stewart Brand, Del Close, Paul Fostar, Gurney Norman and George Walker
Foes:
Government, Law Enforcement, Older generations who favor conservatism
Works Cited
"Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters." Library of University of Virginia. University of Virginia, 1998. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. <http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.html>.
*Lehmann-Haupt, Rachel. "For a Merry Prankster, A Day-Glo-Free Funeral." The New York Observer. 31 Mar. 2002. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. <http://www.observer.com/node/45816>.
McConnell, William S. The Counterculture Movements of the 1960s. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2004. Print.